Spring in Cincinnati (April Flawrs!)

Cincinnati had an annual flower show on the regular.  Then the recession hit and then the Cincinnati Horticultural Society couldn't do it (or didn't do it) for four years.  Then in March I started to notice billboards go up for the return of the Show this year. 

Rain or shine.  Guess which day we went.

Saturday weather was idyllic, and we therefore spent it weeding and mowing the lawn and chasing after Smalls.  Sunday it gushed pretty much unceasingly so naturally we suited up to walk around outside in the wet.

  I'm told the crowds thronged in for the great weather, but the good luck within bad luck was that there was no crowd for us.  Or, you know, hardly anyone at all.   We came around 4pm with no tickets, and were given courtesy tickets at the gate for free so this event cost us only what I spent in plants and cheddar+carmel corn.  The rain meant business, and Smalls has a dangerously short attention span anyway, so we just did a quick race through.

There were actually people here, just not many to be found out of tents

There was a barbecue event (special tickets), and a bourbon tasting on Saturday (cry), and a mother-daughter tea (which I would delightedly drag my kid to because they had a gloriously dressed Mary Poppins lady in full chalk-painting-land regalia there I kid you not.  I didn't get a photo, I was trying to juggle my giant golf umbrella and at the time I didn't realize I was blogging again.  Regrets.)  

What I used to love about the flower show is the model plantings, where you can see new and tested plants in garden settings.  

I saw this and thought, "Why! Sweet Woodruff.  I should have that in my yard."  Of course that might require you to reign yourself in if you start to see things that you covet all around.    

"Why!  I totally need these red star thingies!"

This year they featured a variety of model window boxes.  I love looking at the new coleus and heuchera cultivars.  So many more colors than they used to have! 

And, as in the past, they had a competition run by the Horticultural Society.  People compete with their gorgeous orchids and toad lillies and I'm afraid I didn't get more than a few minutes in there.  I did manage to catch this friggin awe-inspiring arrangement featuring David Austin Garden Roses.

needwant  :: drool ::

And lots of perky deer-bait I mean tulips.

excuse my jealousy...

Yeatman's Cove was splendidly decked out with blossoming trees.  The grounds were meticulously cared for, and it was a lovely space to spend time in and sit beneath the trees.  You know, probably.

Despite the unceasing rain, that got quite nasty around 5pm, it was a really nicely turned out spot for the show and I hope they consider having it by the river next year as well.  I enjoy the Flower Show, and I'll go back as long as they keep doing it.  

*

April is also the time when the mature cherry trees in Ault Park bloom.  We did go and picnic.  

"Is that a leaf?  Don't eat the leaf.  No, DON'T eat the leaf."

 I'm glad we went, though it's a bit more of a production than it used to be.  Cincinnatians know that the cherries in Ault Park are a sight to see.   

Lately I feel it's more important than ever to not be content to just let time march on, but to mark it with personal observances, make my own traditions, and to celebrate life and renewal when the opportunity strikes.   

Preferably with bourbon.

LINK : PR Bit on the Flower Show from the Cincinnati Business Courier

Succulent Homes

Last time we spoke of a new home for some of the cake-pan-bound succulents.

This is where they have been living, by the window in the guest room.

This photo was taken around 2pm, and it still isn't getting much in the way of natural sunlight.  This is why I take them outside for direct sunlight every once in awhile.

I bought a vintage tin for a planter on ebay. 

It was 5 bucks.   

I like it, I do, and it goes with the kitchen, but it's all wrong.  I'm thinking I'll put something taller and fluffier in there.  Cilantro, or basil.  However, and let this be a testament to my laziness, tins have to be prepared before you plant in them or they will surely rust.  I doubt oxidation can be stopped indefinitely, but Apartment Therapy once advised applying nail polish to the bottom to slow down rust. This is just to slow down the process, I'm sure, to keep the tins a bit longer.

But because I didn't like the succulent in there anyway, that project is going on hold.  

Serendipitously, D and I ended up going antiquing last weekend when my parents came down from the north for a visit.  And there I picked up a mini chalice made of solid and heavy marbled stone (marble? maybe?).    Solid. Cute. Safe to get wet.  Sold : $5. 

I cannot imagine anyone drinking from this thing. 

And then there is the teeny, adorably kitschy cat planter I purchased off of ebay.

And we've got some new homes for my succulents.

with room to grow!

The bathroom gets great natural light almost all day long but because our bathroom is tiny, and so is the window ledge, I hadn't thought we could take advantage of that natural light.  But my Vintage 1960's Napcoware planter ended up being smaller than I had anticipated.  So small that it fits the ledge like it was made for it.  That's a happy kitty.

another happy kitty in the background here

Well, that's two down.  

Homeless Succulents

Succulents boomed a few years ago, and now crafty people and hipsters have them in wall-boxes (homemade and not), terrariums, and wreathes.  Because of the sheer variety of shapes and their utility due to their arid proclivities, I love them long time.

We bought a flat of succulents on ebay and gave them as mementos at our wedding reception.

Dubiously saran-wrapped and yet!

Wee delightfulness!

   

 

the re-potting seemed to take forever....

I put mine on the fireplace which was quite stupid, as fire dries things out at a much faster pace (duh), and the thing died.  :(

But a friend of ours had gathered up the plants orphaned at the end of our reception, took them home, fostered them in her garden, then after a few months she dug them up and gave them back to us.  :)

They are lovely.

yes, that's snow on the ground

They need a new home.  Some will go into the ground next spring, but I'd like to keep a few indoors with some herbs for a kitchen garden.  All summer long these succulents have sat in this disposable foil cake pan.  Which is fine for the banished recesses of the guest room window, but I'm sending a few to the kitchen or dining room for the southern exposure.  So I'd like to make them a bit happier.  

Ceramic planters are fun, and ceramic animal planters are a hoot.  Sherry from YoungHouseLove has a prodigious collection of them.   You can select your totem from etsy or ebay with no difficulty whatever, it's really size and budget that limits the veritable ceramic menagerie out there.    There is a bonanza of dogs and cats and mulecarts and sheep, obviously. 

Even deer,

Vintage Bambi doing Blue Steel

Or hippos.  Like hippos?
how about in blue?

From Etsy by Coastalmoss

 or vintage Japanese hippos, perhaps?

Old timey vintage ceramic animals seem to go for a lot less than Etsy ceramic animal planters.  In my quick window-shopping spree they were running the gamut of $20 bucks to $25 bucks for an awesome ceramic bull planter

From Etsy by Kitschparade

to $35 bucks for this sweet pig planter from Fruitflypie.

from Etsy by fruitflypie

I love this pig.  Do not judge me for it.

Alas, I cannot pay $35 for a ceramic animal planter.  I just can't do it.  But I totally would.

Ceramic isn't the only way to go.  When I saw this photo, I knew what I did covet this setup.

(originally from  Image from poppytalk.blogspot.com)

Vintage and appealing to my yen for Fallout-style sensibilities.   "VitaPep."  It sounds fake, I love it.  

If I go tin there's a lot to choose from.  Upcycled old tea tins, most prominently, featuring floral motifs more often than not, but sometimes also birds or sailing ships.  Also old tobacco tins, or tins for curries or candies.  I like Red Owl spice tins, but they're a tad small for my taste.

Cannot remember photo source, but can be found on Ebay

These tobacco tins are fun too, but somewhat thin for my purpose. 

Retro:

On Etsy by RockyMTNsteeze

Folksy Floral,

Vintage Product Placement, 

Cottage Chic

From Etsy by VintageJunkDrawerToo

I've already been surfing the internet for far too long this day.  So, I'm looking for some planters.  Some for herbs.  Some for some succulents.  I'm into the inexpensive, and not averse to simple DIY.  

Any ideas?